Radio SEAC was the war time radio station operated by the Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC) that took over the operations of Colombo Radio, a Sri Lankan radio station launched in 1925. Radio programs were broadcast across Asia to the allied forces and to the people of India and South Asia.
Radio SEAC was handed over to the Government of Sri Lanka after World War II who changed the name to Radio Ceylon. The station is the oldest radio station in Asia (world's second oldest). Millions tuned into Radio SEAC and subsequently Radio Ceylon.
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Vernon Corea was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. During his time he presented some of the most popular radio shows in South Asia, including The Maliban Show, Dial-a-Disc, Holiday Choice, Two For the Money, Take It Or Leave It, Saturday Stars, To Each His Own, Kiddies Corner, and Old Folks at Home. He was well known not only in Sri Lanka, but right across the Indian Sub-Continent from the late 1950s to the 1970s – this was in the heyday of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Radio Ceylon is a radio station based in Sri Lanka and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Department in 1923, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) came into existence on 5 January 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa and the Director-General of the CBC, Neville Jayaweera. The first board of Directors of CBC consisted of Mr Neville Jayaweera (CCS), Mr A. L. M. Hashim, Mr Dharmasiri Kuruppu, Mr K.A.G. Perera and Mr Devar Surya Sena. After the first board meeting, it was decided unanimously to appoint the chairman, Mr Jayaweera, as the new Director-General.
Radio broadcasting in Sri Lanka dates to 1923. Radio broadcasting, like other forms of media in Sri Lanka, is generally divided along linguistic lines with state and private media operators providing services in Sinhala, Tamil, and English language.
Jimmy Bharucha, was a Sri-Lankan Parsi broadcaster called a 'colossus in Sri Lanka's broadcasting world'. Bharucha died in Colombo in June 2005.
Karunaratne Abeysekera was one of Sri Lanka's most famous Sinhala broadcasters. He was also a poet and songwriter and was widely admired for his excellent command of Sinhala.
Edward Harper was a British engineer who travelled to Colombo in 1921 to work in the Ceylon Telegraph Department. Harper was appointed Chief Engineer. He had an innovative mind and his passion was broadcasting. Edward Harper is known as the 'Father of Broadcasting,' in Ceylon.
Livy Wijemanne (1917-2002) as a pioneer of Radio Ceylon. He was one of Sri Lanka's greatest broadcasters. On 31 October 1948, the Post Master General appointed the young announcer as an Assistant Controller of Programmes. This was a start of his career in management in Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia.
Timothy Navaratnam Horshington was a pioneering broadcaster of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia. Horshington was one of the earliest Tamil announcers to be appointed to the panel of announcers in the 1950s by Livy Wijemanne and Clifford Dodd. He was very popular with listeners on the island - Ceylonese enjoyed listening to his mellow voice over Radio Ceylon - the radio station ruled the airwaves in the 1950s and 1960s in South Asia.
Claude Selveratnam was a popular radio announcer of Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Selveratnam read the English news bulletins of Radio Ceylon as well as presenting some of the popular radio programs of the day such as - 'Holiday Choice'.
Prosper Fernando was a longstanding announcer with Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia. Fernando presented some of Radio Ceylon's most popular radio programs such as Housewives' Choice and Holiday Choice. Thousands tuned into the programs on the island.
Shirley Perera was a popular announcer of the 1960s and 1970s in Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Perera presented some of the well known radio programmes of the station including 'You call the Tune.'
Pearl Ondaatje was a pioneer of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia. She was one of the radio station's first female newsreaders and a presenter of radio programs, including programs for women listeners of the radio station.
Elmo Fernando was a popular announcer with Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation. Fernando was an excellent reader of the news. He joined Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia at a time when it was known as the 'King of the Airwaves' in the 1950s and 1960s. Millions tuned into the station from across the Indian sub-continent. When he was at Radio Ceylon he was mentored by the veteran broadcaster Vernon Corea.
H.M. Gunasekera was a respected broadcaster with Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.
Thevis Guruge was a distinguished broadcaster with Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. He was the first Sinhala Announcer with Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia.
A.W. Dharmapala was a pioneering broadcaster and Outside Broadcast Engineer of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, for 42 years (1922-1964). With the help of the engineers from Radio Ceylon, he was able to convert the radio equipment from a German submarine, captured during World War I, into a 0.5 kw radio transmitter. Using this, the first experimental broadcasts, playing gramophone music, were conducted in 1923 from the Central Telegraph Department. On December 16, 1925, barely three years after the BBC was inaugurated in England, Ceylon became the first British colony in Southeast Asia to begin regular, official radio broadcasts. In 1929 Dharmapala's was the first Sinhala voice heard over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon, broadcasting the words Colombin katha karami. In 1954, he was appointed as assistant engineer for Radio Ceylon.
Dayananda de Silva was a distinguished radio journalist who has enjoyed a career of 42 years in public service broadcasting, on the island of Sri Lanka. De Silva joined Radio Ceylon in the early 1960s. Radio Ceylon, now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), is the oldest radio station in South Asia. Millions of listeners across the Indian sub-continent tuned into Radio Ceylon. Dayananda de Silva joined Radio Ceylon when Ronnie de Mel was the Director-General of the station.
Cliff Foenander was a Sri Lankan musician who performed in South East Asia and Las Vegas. Cliff died 21 November 2000.
Mervyn Jayasuriya was a veteran announcer with Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia. Jayasuriya presented some of the most popular radio programmes over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon, such as "Roving Mike" and "Sports Newsreel". Millions tuned into the programmes, right across South Asia.